For Old Friends
by EvilpuppyofDoom
Summary: What if Naruto had reached out to Sasuke as a friend when they were in the academy? This small, but substantial difference completely changes their lives and the lives of those around them. No pairings as of yet and no bashing of characters. Strong!Naruto. Smart!Naruto. Sane!Sasuke.
1. Academy Arc 1: On that Day by the River

Academy Arc: On That Day by the River

Vaulting over a low stone wall Naruto put on a burst of speed. A swinging bar forced him into an evasive roll costing him precious seconds. Racing forward he came up against a castle wall far too tall to simply jump over.

_I'm running out of time!_ He thought scrambling up the wall as fast as he could go. Cresting the obstacle his objective was in sight. He paused for a split second to chart a path to it, then sprang into action.

Leaping forwards he landed on a tree branch and lunged for another, arms outstretched to pull him into a swing. It was right then that everything went horribly wrong.

Naruto managed to grab the branch but he'd misjudged his speed. As he swung forwards his grip failed and he plummeted to the ground, landing in a rather large puddle of mud with a very loud splat.

Giggling trickled in from the sidelines of the obstacle course, drawing a moan from Naruto. He'd been so close. However Naruto was used to such disappointments and he'd gotten the furthest of anyone in his class; so the sting of failure quickly faded. As he was about to get up the mud covered boy realized he had an opportunity to perform before his classmates.

Ever the jester Naruto performed a backwards roll, rising into a gymnasts salute. Then he gave his class an exaggerated bow. "Thank you. Thank you" he said in a snooty upper class voice. Some mud dribbled from his hair, completing the ridiculous image.

For his performance Naruto received a surge of laughter from his classmates. He grinned, basking in their attention and humor for a brief moment.

"Yes Naruto your complete and utter failure was most amusing" the teacher drawled. "Now get back in line!" she added sharply.

"Yes, yes I'm going" Naruto drawled back, rolling his eyes in an exaggerated manner.

"Detention Uzumaki!" Fuyuko-sensei snapped out.

"What! What the hell for?!"

"For your disrespectful tone and language Uzumaki. Now get your ass in line before I start coming up with more creative punishments."

At this point most anyone with self preservation instincts would have probably meekly gotten in line, recognizing their precarious position. However Uzumaki Naruto is not one for such petty things as self preservation instincts. So, rather than try and keep his situation from degrading further he looked Fuyoko-sensei in the eye and said "Screw you sensei".

Things collapsed pretty quickly after that point. Details are unnecessary but suffice to say Naruto ended up with several weeks of after school detention.

XoXoXo

About half an hour later lunch time rolled round and the class let out, much to Naruto's relief. He and the rest of the kids collected their lunches and dispersed across the courtyard behind the academy. The other students naturally dispersed into their groups.

Knowing full well that he would not be welcome amongst them Naruto headed over his usual spot beneath a large oak tree at the edge of the field. He sunk to the ground, unwrapped his lunch and began to eat.

As he ate he gazed out across the courtyard, observing the other kids. Shikamaru was lying on his back staring at the clouds, while Choji sat beside him devouring his lunch with a look of intense focus on his face.

Kiba was laughing loudly with a group of kids whose names Naruto wouldn't be able to remember even if you offered him ramen for a month.

Ino and Sakura's groups were on opposite sides of the field and were alternating between chatting with each other about various subjects and, when they thought no one was looking, staring at Sasuke.

It was Sasuke to whom Naruto's eyes drifted next. Sasuke, who's completion of the obstacle course earlier in the day had only enhanced his standing with the class, whereas Naruto's near miss had brought him nothing but derision. Sasuke, who had succeeded where Naruto failed. Like always. Sasuke who everyone praised as a genius. Sasuke who...Hang on...

Just for a brief moment the two of them made eye contact and Naruto was startled to see the loneliness he felt reflected in the eyes of his rival.

Now, no one would ever accuse Naruto of being the most observant person. But as he looked at Sasuke, sitting alone on the low stone wall that bordered the courtyard he couldn't help but recognize the parallels to his own isolation.

Then Naruto shook himself. _Nah_ he thought. _Uchiha Sasuke lonely? The teachers love him and the other kids like him too. There's no way he of all people is all alone._

_Then where are all these friends he should have? _Asked a little voice in the back of Naruto's mind. _Have you ever seen him sit with anyone else? Even talk to anyone else if he wasn't approached first?_

Naruto shook his head again. _What am I thinking? This is Uchiha Sasuke we're talking about. He probably just considers things like friends beneath his dignity or something._

Successfully dismissing the subject of Sasuke, Naruto's eyes gradually drifted up to the sky. _That cloud looks kinda like a duck. _He thought idly as he rested his back against the tree.

XoXoXo

Several hours (and one detention) later Naruto was walking home. His hands were in his pockets and his back was slightly slouched. The light from the setting sun cast the nearby river in an orange glow.

As he wandered along the dirt path he noticed a figure sitting slumped on a small wooden dock. As he got closer he could make out more details. It was a kid about his age. Somewhat small with a dark shirt and black hair.

It wasn't until the figure turned to look at him that he realized it was Sasuke. Once again Naruto was taken aback by the loneliness he recognized on his rivals face. And Naruto made a split second decision. It was a small choice, but it would change the future of the entire shinobi world. He smiled down at his rival. Sasuke started briefly then offered him a small smile in return.

Naruto slid down the riverbank and clattered onto the dock as Sasuke rose to greet him. "Hi." Naruto said.

"Hi" Sasuke responded. There was an awkward pause as Naruto realized he hadn't really thought this through. It's not like he could just say "Hey you looked lonely and I don't get why a genius like you wouldn't have friends but we could be friends if you wanted". Even he had a little more tact than that. Not a lot granted but enough.

"Sooo… What are you doing here?" he asked hoping Sasuke would provide a subject of conversation.

"Just… Looking at the river I suppose" Sasuke replied.

Naruto stared intently into the river for several long seconds. "Hmmm… Nope can't see anything interesting" he decided.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Well what would you do with a river? It's just a lot of moving water" he said.

"Well…" Naruto thought for a moment. "How about skipping stones?" he suggested.

"What?" Sasuke asked.

"You've never done it?"

Sasuke shook his head.

"It's kinda like throwing a shuriken. You wanna find a flat stone…" Naruto said looking around the river bank for an appropriate pebble. Finding one he held it up so Sasuke could see.

"Then you throw like this" he said flicking the stone across the water. It skipped twice then sunk.

"So like this?" Sasuke asked, taking a similar pebble. He flicked his wrist, imitating Naruto as best as he could. The stone skipped once and sunk.

"Yeah exactly." Naruto agreed grinning.

The two of them skipped stones together until the light started to fade.

"Hey Naruto."

"Yeah?"

"It's getting hard to see the stones. We should go soon"

"I guess. One last throw? See who gets the most skips?"

"Sure. What's the bet?"

"I wouldn't wanna make a bet of it Sasuke. You just learned this today after all."

"Scared I'll beat you?"

"Fine then you're on. Loser has to walk home backwards."

"Agreed"

Sasuke threw first. His stone only skipped once before striking a low hanging tree branch and sinking.

"Wow, great shot Sasuke." Naruto said sarcastically.

"The tree got in the way." Sasuke grumbled.

"You're blaming the tree?" Naruto asked incredulously.

Sasuke glared at him. Naruto relented. "Fine, fine. We won't count that one. You can go again after me. But only because you're new at this!"

Naruto fired off his stone. It was a great throw, skipping four times before sinking.

"Ha! Beat that Sasuke!" Naruto exclaimed exuberantly.

"Don't get cocky" Sasuke growled, though he wasn't looking nearly so confident. He threw his final stone. It splashed into the water and sunk to the bottom without even skipping once.

"Yes! Backwards you go!" Naruto crowed.

"Didn't I tell you not to get cocky loser? I'll kick your ass next time!" Sasuke said, but his words had no real heat in them.

"Sure Sasuke. Maybe tomorrow your stones won't instantly sink. And no tree branches will bother you." Naruto taunted.

"That was just a fluke! Shut up." Sasuke grumbled.

"Sure. Sure." Naruto said walking back up the hill. "See you tomorrow Sasuke. Assuming you can find your way to the school"

"Oh screw you Naruto!" Sasuke said as he struggled to climb up the riverbank backwards. After a few moments he gave up trying to do this the normal way and crabwalked up the slope.

XoXoXo

As Naruto lay in bed that night he reflected on the events of the day. He'd been yelled at by a teacher for doing well, fallen in mud, failed a test, gotten detention for a month, and maybe, just maybe he'd made a friend. A proper friend. For the first time in his life. All in all a pretty good day he decided as he drifted off to sleep.


	2. Academy Arc 2: Nightmares and Daydreams

Academy Arc: Nightmares and Daydreams

The night was quiet and still, but only just. There were sounds, but they were just on the edge of one's hearing. If they were there at all. And there was movement. But only in the corner of your eye. And should you look you would find nothing disturbed. Nothing changed. Almost as if you'd imagined it.

But no matter how hard you try you cannot quite convince yourself it was just imagined. It was on nights like these that even the most rational man could, for a moment, believe in the otherworldly.

Yes, a night of spectres and hauntings. A night of spirits. And it was on this night, deep in the Uchiha compound, that a young boy lay sleeping in his bed, tormented by demons and ghosts all his own.

"I'm off," Sasuke called over his shoulder as he departed for the academy. He jogged through the Uchiha district, his clansmen performing their morning rituals around him. He felt the cool evening breeze on his face as the moon glowed above him.

_Wait. That's not right, _he thought looking up at the sky. His distraction caused him to slip on something wet and fall forwards. But before he struck the ground a hand seized him by his collar and pulled him back to his feet.

"Whoa there, young man. Where are you off to in such a hurry?" His aunt asked, smiling down at him.

"Just off to the academy, Auntie," Sasuke replied excitedly.

"Oh, good. But be careful running in the streets like that…" As she talked, blood began to dribble from her nose.

"Auntie, your nose is bleeding," Sasuke said, but she just kept talking like he hadn't said anything. Her mouth opened and, though her words continued undistorted, blood bubbled from her lips, dribbling onto the ground.

"Help! Something's wrong with Auntie!" Sasuke yelled, looking around desperately. When he looked back at his aunt she was laying on the ground, her lifeblood pooling around her.

"Sasuke, what's wrong?" Called his uncle walking over. He somehow didn't seem to notice his wife lying on the ground.

"It's Auntie. She…"

Sasuke was cut off by a kunai flying across his uncle's throat. As his uncle's body struck the ground he heard a familiar voice off to the side.

"Foolish little brother." Turning, Sasuke saw Itachi staring down at him dispassionately with his Sharingan eyes.

"I'm coming for mother and father next," Itachi said before vanishing in a swirl of leaves.

_No. No! I have to warn them! _Sasuke thought as he raced down the street towards his home. If I can just beat Itachi there maybe they can stop him.

"Mother! Father!" Sasuke shouted bursting through the door. His parents were both standing a short distance away.

"Sasuke! Don't yell so loudly," his mother admonished.

"Sorry Mother. But you have to listen to me. Itachi is-" his words were cut off as he felt something poke his forehead in a familiar manner. Sasuke found he couldn't move.

"Forgive me, Sasuke. Maybe next time," Itachi said. "Maybe next time you'll be fast enough to save them,"Itachi's voice added in Sasuke's mind.

Then Itachi advanced towards his parents a knife concealed behind his back. "Mother, Father, I'm home," He said closing the distance between him and his parents. Then his hand became a blur of motion.

Sasuke snapped awake. He stared at the ceiling for several moments, getting his thoughts in order. Then he turned and looked at his clock. 05:00 hours.

Sighing, Sasuke sat up. No point in trying to go back to sleep now. He'd be up in an hour anyway. He slid out of bed and navigated his way to the kitchen. He flicked the light on and started to prepare breakfast.

Sasuke was far from a fancy cook (or even a good one) but he could do the basics. He prepped a pot of grits and put it on the stove.

As he waited for his meal to boil his mind found itself lingering on his dream. Unbidden memories from the actual massacre began to rise.

_No_. Sasuke decided. I am not focusing on that now. Setting a timer for 8 minutes, he walked out into his yard where a training dummy awaited his assault.

Springing into action, Sasuke catapulted himself across the field, delivering a powerful flying side kick to the dummy. He rebounded off the target, stumbling slightly as he landed. _Sloppy_, he thought angrily.

Springing forwards again, he delivered a hook kick to the dummy. Letting the momentum from his rebound carry him, he spun around and struck his target with a backfist, before firing a vicious side kick at the point where his opponent's knee would be.

Sasuke took a step back and a moment to recenter himself, before launching into another ferocious combination of strikes.

XoXoXo

Sometime later, Sasuke stopped, panting. There was a vague beeping at the edge of his hearing that had been bothering him for a while and as he got his wind back he decided to investigate and hopefully shut whatever it was up.

As he walked towards the sound he realized he could also smell something burning. It was about then that Sasuke remembered the breakfast he'd been making.

Sasuke sprinted into the kitchen. He quickly scanned the room and was relieved to see that his house was not currently on fire.

Sasuke switched off the stove and grabbed a pair of oven mitts. He lifted the pot and carried it outside, plunking it down on a large rock. He peered at the remnants of his breakfast.

_Damn. I hope I can save the pot_,he thought as he looked at the charred mess. Then he decided he'd had enough of the acidic smell and went back inside.

He checked the clock. 05:48. _Maybe milk and cereal will be better._ Sasuke thought as he began preparing his second attempt at breakfast.

XoXoXo

Uchiha Sasuke was bored out of his mind. He was currently listening to Iruka-sensei drone on about the campaigns of some old warlord named Nobunaga. Sasuke could not bring himself to care. He was at the academy to get stronger so he could kill his brother, not learn some random trivia about some shinobi who lived hundreds of years ago.

"Hey, Sasuke," Naruto whispered from behind him.

"Hmm?" Sasuke grunted in acknowledgement.

"Look at that thing next to him in the picture. I think that's his summon," Naruto said pointing at a spot in the side show.

Sighing to himself, Sasuke humored his classmate. _Why should I care about what some old guys summon wa- Holy Shit!_

"What is that thing?" He hissed back at Naruto. He was having trouble processing what he was seeing. It looked like a wheel from a wagon but with a face. Small orbs of fire flickered around it.

"I have no idea. It looks weird though," Naruto replied.

"I wonder if it might be some sort of demon," Sasuke speculated.

"I doubt it. This guy's supposed to be some sort of great leader right? Who'd trust someone who summons demons?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke shrugged. "We're ninja. It doesn't matter where our power comes from as long as we're strong," he said dismissively.

At that point Iruka-sensei got tired of the two of them talking during his lecture. "Oy! Naruto! Stop pestering Sasuke," he called to them. Naruto glared at Iruka-sensei, but before he could say anything Iruka-sensei added, "And Sasuke stop encouraging him. You should be paying attention to what I'm saying. This will be on the test."

Both of them sat back looking sufficiently chastised. Though as soon as Iruka turned away Sasuke rolled his eyes and Naruto stuck his tongue out. The pair did keep quiet for the rest of the lesson though.

XoXoXo

Sometime after school, Sasuke walked out of the academy, having just finished a private tutoring session with Mizuki-sensei. Sasuke, after all, was the genius last Uchiha. It was easy for him to get private lessons. And it just wouldn't do for him to limit himself to the pace of the average ninja. There was no way he'd catch up to Itachi doing that.

"Oy! Sasuke!" Called a familiar voice.

"Naruto. What are you doing here? Were you waiting for me or something?" Sasuke said, a little suspiciously.

"Huh? Who'd wait for your lazy ass? I just got out of detention. What about you?" Naruto replied.

"I just got finished doing extra shuriken lessons with Mizuki-sensei. I'm working on my fuma shuriken throwing," Sasuke answered proudly.

"Don't worry, Sasuke. I won't tell anyone. Even geniuses like you need remedial lessons from time to time after all," Naruto said in a perfectly sincere tone. His lips twitching with a barely repressed smirk rather ruined the illusion.

"What? They're not remedial lessons! I'm moving at a different pace than the rest of the class. That's why he agreed to teach me," Sasuke said indignantly.

"Don't worry Sasuke. I won't tell a soul. There's nothing to be ashamed of about moving at a different pace," Naruto replied with a shit-eating grin.

Sasuke groaned as he realized that his phrasing could be read either way. "A faster pace than the rest of the class, you dope. I don't need the extra training to keep up with…" He trailed off as he looked at Naruto's smirk. "You're just messing with me, aren't you," he said.

Naruto just chuckled in response.

Sasuke rolled his eyes at his friend's teasing.

The two of them travelled in silence for a few minutes. Then they found themselves standing in front of a training ground which was on neither of their routes home.

"How did we get here?" Naruto asked.

"I was following you," Sasuke replied.

"Well I was following you," Naruto said defensively.

They both contemplated that for a moment. Then Naruto seemed to decide that, however they had gotten here, a deserted training ground was something they could make use of.

"Hey, Sasuke, wanna put that remedial training of yours to the test?" Naruto asked.

"I told you Naruto, it's not remedial training. But if you're asking for a spar, I'll be happy to knock you around for a bit," Sasuke replied.

"Oy! I can keep up just fine! In fact I'll kick your ass!" Naruto said indignantly.

"Let's put that to the test then shall we?" Sasuke said, as he hopped the fence and entered the training ground.

Naruto growled and vaulted over the fence after him.

The two of them squared off, entering their standard academy stances. Sasuke's eye twitched slightly at the sad sight that was Naruto's fighting stance.

"Naruto, take this a little seriously would you," Sasuke said irritably.

"What are you on about?" Naruto asked equally annoyed.

"Naruto, that stance is terrible. Your back leg is too far to your right, meaning that if I were to strike you with a side kick you'd fall right over. On top of that, your guard hand is pulled too far back to do much guarding or throw a jab. Now take this match seriously and get into a proper stance," Sasuke said exasperated.

Now Naruto looked puzzled and a bit put out. "But this is the stance Mizuki-sensei told me to use," he said.

_Why would Sensei teach him such a poor stance?_ Sasuke wondered. "Well, it's wrong," he said.

"Is not."

"Is."

"Is not."

"I-You know what I'll prove it to you. Here I come." With that, Sasuke charged. As soon as he had closed the distance between him and his foe, he fired off a jab. Naruto dodged away, trying to flank, but Sasuke had anticipated this and was already twisting himself around.

A spinning side kick crashed into Naruto's guard knocking him sprawling on his butt.

"See?" Sasuke said. "Now you try and knock me over with that move."

Angry, Naruto didn't hesitate to comply and lashed out with a somewhat sloppier spinning side kick.

For the purpose of demonstration, Sasuke didn't dodge or block but instead simply absorbed the blow on his own guard. Naruto's technique may not have been perfect, but the kick still had real power behind it and, as such, Sasuke was sent staggering backwards. He did not fall over though.

"You should be able to draw a straight line from your front foot to your back one. Otherwise your balance will be off," Sasuke explained.

Several more minutes were spent adjusting Naruto's stance until Sasuke was satisfied.

"Okay, now that I can stand right, can we spar already?" Naruto asked impatiently.

Sasuke nodded. Though he still couldn't figure out why Naruto had been taught such a poor stance to begin with.

The two of them once again assumed their stances. This time Naruto struck first. He led with a wide right cross, which Sasuke swatted aside before firing a jab at Naruto's face. The Uzumaki barely blocked the blow. Sasuke's follow up cross tapped Naruto's stomach, right on his solar plexus.

If this had been a real fight that blow would have carried a good deal of power and Sasuke would have followed it up with more like it.

However, as this was a friendly spar, the two of them just split apart with Naruto nodding in acknowledgement of Sasuke's point.

They resumed their stances in preparation for the next round.

Sasuke led off this time, closing the distance with a vicious hook kick aimed for Naruto's head. Instead of blocking, or ducking the kick as Sasuke had expected, Naruto stepped inside the strike and grabbed the Uchiha's leg.

Naruto tried to throw his opponent but didn't really know what he was doing and Sasuke's balance was too good. Sasuke meanwhile couldn't pull his leg from the Uzumaki's grip. He tried punching him but his angle was terrible and his blows had no power behind them.

Naruto got sick of trying to throw Sasuke and planted his foot on his opponent's before pulling them both to the ground.

Neither of them had much training in ground fighting yet and it showed. Sasuke performed a standard slap out on landing, which allowed Naruto to grab his wrist. Now, normally this would be where Naruto would go for an arm lock, but he had no idea how to do that. So instead Naruto used his leverage to pull Sasuke closer to him.

Sasuke had no idea how to fight on his back either and so he lashed out with a punch at Naruto, which the other boy easily blocked, before sliding his hand inside the Uchiha's guard and placing his fingers on Sasuke's throat. This was the standard academy gester for "You were just stabbed in a vital point".

"Point to you Naruto," Sasuke said, with a slight gulp.

Naruto grinned and the two of them got back to their feet and resumed their fighting stances.

The spar continued intermittently for almost 20 minutes. Sasuke won the majority of their matches, though Naruto pulled out more than a few victories of his own, either through unconventional tactics or because Sasuke made a mistake.

XoXoXo

After they were through sparring the two of them hung out together for a little while longer, playing ninja until the light started to fade. At that point they said their goodbyes and headed for home.

And that night, for the first time since the massacre, Uchiha Sasuke fell asleep with a smile on his face. He would not wake that way.

_**A/N**_

_**I won't normally do these but apparently when I uploaded this document FFN decided to clear all of my italics. I think I got them all but if you run across a non-italicized thought please inform me so I can correct it.**_


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